John Curtis

Then help me understand why you wouldn't hold a single public meeting.

This proposed rule was rushed forward without material input from Wyoming or other states.

I am incredibly surprised by how this rule came forward because of how it is established, and it is ignoring the long-set precedent that ranchers take every day to manage lands, and not asking for their input.

Let me be clear; my administration values the relationships we have with the Wyoming State BLM Office and the District and Field Office staff throughout the state.

I just want to point out that we are doing a very good job of preserving ourselves, and I am not sure that there is anything in this rule that will do a better job of preserving in the area.

Are you willing to extend the comment period, given the fact that so many people have not been heard from?

I recognize the right and duty of this generation to develop and use the natural resources of our land; but I do not recognize the right to waste them, or to rob, by wasteful use, the generations that come after us.

When the former Congressman over here was chatting about conspiracy theories, this whole proposed rule is a conspiracy theory.

Thank you for holding today's hearing and for the opportunity to share our support for this legislation.

I will meet with your scheduler immediately, as soon as you are ready.

I am writing in strong support of Congressman John Curtis' legislation, H.R. 3397.

Nothing good has come out of that designation for the land in Utah, for the local tribes, and for the people who participate in this land.

The repeal of this designation is critical to proper management of these lands.

In the West we know far better how to manage these lands, and have done better for decades and decades, than any bureaucrat in the East Coast could ever imagine or ever dream of managing these lands.

This rule undermines the work of real conservatives, conservationists like farmers and ranchers who have kept the land in good health.

This rule undermines the work of real conservationists, like farmers and ranchers who have kept the land in good health for generations.

How can Utah ranchers, farmers, and recreationalists have their voices heard, when you are not responding to our letters and you are not holding hearings?

If you go more specifically to my district, I don't have the specific numbers for BLM, but Federal lands represent about 90 percent, a high percentage of my district.

They are taking away all public input, potentially, in how they are going to create intact landscapes, which means the public will have no input, and they can immediately implement it overnight, which is not the authority of BLM.

The best solution is to rescind the rule.

Do you not feel that you have missed something here by not coming to the people in these good areas and getting their input?

To be clear, then, you are saying states with significant impact by this rule didn't need to be heard from, and that that was adequate. Is that what you are telling me?

Let me state clearly for the record that for decades, and decades, and decades, the good people of Utah have managed these lands in a responsible way.

The best environmentalists in the world--by the way, they hate to be called environmentalists, our farmers and ranchers are the best environmentalists in the world--have been taking care of and preserving and protecting these lands.

Conservation means development as much as it does protection.